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Fact-Check: Viral Chart Misrepresents Figures for Palestinians Killed by Israel

The claim shows inflated figures for number of deaths in Palestine, as a result of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

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WebQoof
2 min read
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Sharing a timeline from 2008 to 2020, social media users have shared figures ranging from 1,659 to 31,588, claiming that the list shows the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces each year, over the years.

The claim shows inflated figures for number of deaths in Palestine, as a result of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

An archive of this post can be seen here.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of more posts sharing the same claim can be seen here and here.)

But...?: The figures are misleading.

As per the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' (OCHA) data, the numbers in the claim show a combined number of Palestinians who were injured and killed due to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

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How did we find out?: Using relevant keywords, we looked for the United Nations (UN) historical data for recorded deaths in Palestine resulting from the Israel-Palestine conflict.

  • This led us to the UN's OCHA website, which maintains data for people killed and injured on the Israeli and Palestinian sides in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

  • Here, the website showed that the number of Palestinian fatalities for each year was far lower than the figures in the claim.

The claim shows inflated figures for number of deaths in Palestine, as a result of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

OCHA's website shows a significantly lower number of deaths.

(Source: OCHAOPT/Screenshot)

It also had details for injuries and fatalities per year on the Israeli side.

  • The website specified that OCHA's field staff collected the figures and only included numbers for casualties that are a direct result of confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians.

  • It does not include people killed due to "reckless use of weapons" and "collapse of tunnels," it said. Among the numbers for injured people, it does not include persons receiving treatment for psychological shock.

  • For reference, here is a table with details of Palestinian deaths and injuries as reported by the UN, compared to the figures stated in the viral claim.

The claim shows inflated figures for number of deaths in Palestine, as a result of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

This table compares claimed and official figures for the number of Palestinians killed or injured as a result of their conflict with Israel.

(Source: X/OCHAOPT)

Conclusion: A viral chart claiming to show the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces each year from 2008 to 2020 is being shared on social media. The figures are exaggerated, as per UN data.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)

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